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R. L. WILCOX.

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APPLICATION FILED AUG.23. I915.

I Patented Oct. 2,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1- fi a n 1 a. a. E] v m H. 5 Km. 5 m m .r n I 5, a i. w ry Q M R. L. WILCOX.

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APPLICATION men AUG.23. 1915.

1,241,693. Patented Oct. 2,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Emil...

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Z5 60 63 Qwumtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD LESTER WILCOX, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WATER- IBURY FABREL FOUNDRY AND MACHINE COMPANY, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTI- CUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1917.

Application filed August 23, 1915. Serial No. 46,939.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD Lns'rnn W11.- cox, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Headers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in headers of the open die type, and has for its object, among other things, to construct such a header so that the dies in opening and closing will move in the direction of their length instead of at right angles thereto, as-has heretofore been the practlce, and as a result thereof, produce a device that will be equally as efficient as the old form of headers and much less complicated.

To these, and other ends, my invention consists in the header, having certain details of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference designate like parts in the several figures;

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of a header having my improvements attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof taken substantially upon line AB;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View of the knock-out and adjacent mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a face view of the die sections in their closed relation;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the punch block, the unches therein being shown partly in section; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the wedge keys.

In open die, bolt heading machines, heretofore made, the dies are opened slightly by moving the sections away from each other in a lateral direction, and after the wire has been fed therebetween are closed again to substantially their original position, then moved as a unit at right angles to the direction of the wire feed until the axis of the wire is substantially coincident with the axis of the punch in its upsetting position.

Much complicated, powerful mechanism is required to move these dies in substantially the manner as above indicated and hold ghem together during the upsetting operaions.

There are objections to the old form of open die header, other than those indicated, that are obviated in my present invention.

My improved header is constructed so that the dies do not move in a lateral path, but in a direction substantially parallel with the movement of the punches and the wire feed, and by reason thereof all of the mechanism heretofore used for closing the dies and keeping them in their closed position during the upsetting operation 1s discarded, thereby very materially reducing the number of parts required, the original cost of the machine, as well as the maintenance thereof, and making possible the use of a smaller sized header for the same size of work. In fact, substantially the same results are obtained with my improved open die mechanism in a solid-die header of substantially the same size, a result not heretofore possible.

In the drawings I have only illustrated the die end of a header, the other mechanisms not being material to my present invention', and may be of the usual form or type.

The numeral 1 designates the body of the header, 2 the gate having a reciprocatory movement therein, 3 the punch block which is secured to the slide 4 and has a reciprocatory movement in the gate 2 during the movement of said gate, and 5 and 6 the punches.

I have illustrated only two punches, but more or less may be used, as may be necessary to produce the desired result.

The die block is designated by the numeral 7 and is held within a recess 8 in the body 1 by the clamp block 9 having an angular face 10 thereon that contacts with the angular face 11 upon said die block. A bolt 12, having a nut 13 thereon and passing through the clamp block 9 and body 1, rigidly secures both the die and clamp blocks in their locked positions.

To assist the clamp block 9 in holding the die block in its proper relative position, and to prevent the same from slipping by gravity, shock, etc., I have provided supporting means therefor, which consists of the' plate 46 secured to the bed 1, and,

through which is threaded a screw 47, the end of which impinges against the head of one of the screws 26 and prevents the die block from shifting downwardly, a check nut 48 upon the screw 47 looking the same in any of its adjusted positions.

Movably mounted within a tapered hole 14 in the die block 7 are the die sections 15, which, as shown herein, are semi-circular in cross section and tapered rearwardly from their front end, this taper being the same as that of the tapered hole 14. In the inner face of each of these die sections is a semicircular recess 16 terminating at its outer end in an enlarged angular section 17, the cross section of which is substantially the same as that of the head of the bolt. The diameter of the recess 16 is substantially the same as that of the wire rod and the shank of the bolt and it terminates at its rear end in the shoulder 18, from which and to the rear end of the section is an opening 19, preferably, although not necessarily, of smaller diameter than the recess 16.

Slidably mounted within the opening 19 is a knock-out pin 20, having a head 21 thereon of substantially the same diameter as the recess 16 and supported at its other end in a sleeve 22, within the bore of the knock-out sleeve 23 fixed within the body 1, the inner end of which abuts the rear end of the die sections.

The die sections are held in proper alinement with each other by the dowel pin 24, which is preferably fixed in one section and slidable within the other. This dowel pin may be located in any convenient position in the sections. Other means, than the dowel pin, may be substituted to insure the alinement of these die sections, and, as is desirable in some cases, the cross section of the die sections may be angular instead of circular, in which case no such alining device is required.

The die sections are separated during their movement in one 'dlIGOtlOIl by one or more keys 25 that are secured within the die block 7 by the screws 26 and have wedge faces 27 thereon that lie within the grooves 28 in the opposite sides of the die sections 15.

The walls 29 of the grooves 28 are substantially parallel with the wedge faces 27,

so that as the die sections 15 are moved toward the gate 2, they are spread apart by reason of the engagement of said walls and wedge faces. This movement insures the separation of. the die sections and the creation of an open space between the faces thereof, while said sections are moving towardthe gate.

Upon one side of the body 1, within which the slides 30 and 41 have a reciprocatory movement, through the action of one or more rams, or similar mechanism, as is common in headers and not material to th1s invention, the screws 42 and 43, pivotally connected with the slides by the pintles 44 and 45, form one means of connecting the slides with such mechanism.

The companion knock-out levers 32 are pivotally connected with the lug 33 upon the body 1 by the pintle 34 and are moved in onedirection by' the slide 30, through the ad ust1ng screw 35, having ahead 36 thereon that engages both of the levers 32 and a lock nut 37, to prevent accidental movement thereof.

The knock-out pin 20 is moved toward the gate 2 through the rod 38 that is slidably mounted within the knock-out sleeve 23, and having contact with the knock-out lever 39 that is pivotally mounted upon the pintle 34 and engages the adjustable pin 40 that is threaded in the slide 41.

As the slides 30 and 41 reciprocate, the levers 32 and 39 are actuated and the knockout sleeve 23 moves toward'the gate 2 and moves the die sections parallel therewith The stop mechanism for limiting the feed of the wire, comprises a rod 51 that is adjustable toward and away from the face of the die by a screw 52 and adjacent mechanism, in a manner well known in the art, and a stop arm 53 fixed to the mner end of the rod 51 with a hardenedbutton 54 in the outer end thereof, against which the wire abuts after passing through the cut-off die 49. After the wire has engaged the stop mechanism, it is cut off the required length and the cut off portion is transferred to a position wherein its axis is substantially coincident with the center of the die seetions. Any one of many means may be utilized to accomplish this purpose, and I have therefore only illustrated one of them, which in fact constitutes no part of my present blank to pass therebetween.

arm 63, between the outer end of which and the carrier bar 58 is a 0011 spring 64 mounted upon the rod 65. The action of this spring is such as to normally force the outer end of the arm 63 away from the carrier bar 58 rotating the bolt 62 and the spring finger 66 which projects downwardly with the lower end thereof opposite the edge of the knife 56, substantially as shown in Fig. 2.

When the wire, designated in the drawings by the numeral 67, is advanced through the cut-off die 49, it passes between the cutter knife 56 and spring finger 66, the spring 64 exerting a tension upon said spring finger and holds the blank, when cut oil", against the edge of the knife 56 with sufiicient friction to support it, while the slide 55 is moved toward the (lie sections and presents the blank with its axis substantially coincident with the center of the die sections.

In operation, the wire is fed in the usual manner, as above indicated, and a portion out therefrom, then transferred to a position in line with the die sections, which are now moved through the knock-out mechanism so that the inner faces thereof are separated a sufiicient distance to permit the During this time the-punch 5 moves upwardly and contacts with the outer end of the blank and pushes it from between the cut-off knife and nger 66 between the die sections until the inner end abuts against the head 21 of the knock-out pin 20, which is forced rearwardly, and with it, the die sections 15 by reason of the engagement of the head 21 with the shoulder 18. The die sections are thus closed against each other by reason of the engagement of their exterior tapered portion with the tapered hole 14 in said die block. After the blank has passed into the die sections sufficiently to support it, the bar 55 is withdrawn and the finger 66 snaps over the blank as the pin 62 rocks upon its pivot mountin against the tension of the spring 64. A er passing over the blank, the spring 64 returns the finger 66 to substantially the same relative position with the bar 55 as is shown in Fig. 2, and is thus ready for the next succeeding blank. In the closed position of the dies the blank is held tightly therebetween within the recesses 16, and the continued movement of the gate causes the die 5 to partially upset the end thereof. The die sections, and the partially completed blank, remain in this position while the punch 5 is withdrawn and the punch 6 moved so that its axis is in alinement with and engages the partially completed blank, making a further upsetting thereof and completing the bolt. This latter unch is then withdrawn and moved within the gate 2 so as to again present the punch 5 into alinement position with the axis of the die sections. While this latter movement of the punches is under way the knock-out sleeve 23 moves the die sections within the die block toward the gate 2 causing the same to open and free the completed blank therebetween and the knock-out pin 20 ejects it therefrom, and. the same, as a completed article, drops into a receptacle conveniently arranged to receive it. Succeeding blanks are presented to the die sec- ;ions and the operations performed as beore.

New knock-out pins 20 with heads 21 of varying lengths are substituted so as to permit the use of the same die sections for blanks of various lengths, the end of the blillcllk abutting against the outer end of this hea In the drawings I have illustrated the die sections and punches as designed for the construction of a carriage bolt, but this is only one of the many forms of bolts that may be manufactured in my mechanism. I

believe it possible to manufacture any form r of bolt in my header, including those having lugs or proturberances thereon, by merely changing the shape of the recesses 16, the metal in the blank flowing into and filling said recesses by the upsetting action of the punches.

Many minor details of my invention can be modified from those shown in the drawings, and I would therefore have it understood, that I do not limit myself to the exact construction herein shown and described, but claim all that falls fairly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a recess in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch; means for mounting said sections, whereby said punch will move said die sections in a path substantially parallel therewith; and positively actuated independent means for moving said die sections in the opposite direction.

2. In an open die header, the combination with 'a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a recess in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch; means for mounting said sections, whereby said punch will move said die sections in a path substantially parallel therewith; a reciprocating member having contact with said die sections for moving said die sections in a path substantially parallel therewith but 1n a direction opposite to that imparted by said punch; and positive means for actuating said reciprocating member.

3. In a header, the combination with a plurality of independent die sections, each having a tapered exterior and a face that contacts with a similar face upon an adj acent die section; of means for moving said die sections toward each other and in a path at substantially a right angle thereto, said means comprising a block having a tapered opening therein, a, reciprocating member, having contact with said sections at one end, a reciprocating member, having contact wlth said sections at the opposite end, and positively actuated means for independently moving each of said reciprocatlng members in one direction.

4. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a recess in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch movable toward and away from saiddie sections; means for mounting said die sections whereby they will be opened and closed while traveling in a. path substantially parallel with said punch and so that the heading pressure of said punch thereon will have a tendency to maintain the dies initheir closed relation; and means for ejecting a blank from between said sections.

5. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a recess in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch movable toward and away from said die sections; means for mounting said ,die sections whereby they will be opened and closed while traveling in a path substantially parallel with said punch and so that the heading pressure of said punch thereon will have a tendency to maintain the dies in their closed relation; means for ejecting a blank from between said sections; and means for imparting an independent movement to said ejecting means.

6. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a recem in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch movable toward and away from said die sections; means for mounting said die sections whereby they will be opened and closed while traveling in a path substantially parallel with said unch and so that the heading pressure 0 said punch thereon will have a tendency to main tain the dies in their closed relation; means for ejecting a blank from between said sections, said means accommodating blanks of various lengths in the same die section.

7. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections each of said sections having a recem in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch; means for mounting said die sections whereby they will be opened and closed while traveling in a path substantially parallel with said punch and so that the heading pressure of said punch thereon will have a tendency to maintain the dies in their closed relation; means for accommodating blanks of various lengths in the same die section, comprising a member memes held between said die sections and forming a backing for the blank while being operated upon by said punch; and means for-impartopened and closed while traveling in a path substantially parallel with said punch; and

means for ejecting a blank from between said sections, said ejecting means having such an engagement with said die sections as'to move the same therewith while moving in one direction.

-9. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a, recess in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch; means for mounting said die sections whereby they will be opened and closed while traveling in a path substantially parallel with said punch and so that the heading pressure of said punch thereonwill have a tendency to maintain the dies in their closed relation;

means for ejecting a blank from between prising a block having a tapered opening therein; a reciprocating member having contact with said sections; positively actuated means for moving said reciprocating member in one direction; and means for ejecting a blank from between said sections operative between said sections.

11. In a header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each having a tapered exterior and a face that contacts with a similar face upon an adjacent die section; of means for moving said die sections toward each other and in a path at substantiall a right angle thereto, said means comprismg a block having a tapered opening therein; a reciprocating member having contact with said sections; positively actuated means for moving said reciprocating member in one direction; means for ejecting a blank from between said sections, having a part thereon within the recesses in the abutting faces of said sections; tuating said ejecting means in one direction.

12. In a header, the combination with a and means for positively acplurality of die sections, having a tapered exterior and a face that contacts with a similar face upon an adjacent die section; of means for moving said die sections toward each other and in a path at substantially a ri ht angle thereto, said means comprising alalock having a ta ered opening therein; a reciprocating mem r having contact with said sections; positively actuated means for path substantially parallel therewith; in-

dependent means for moving said die sections in the opposite direction, comprising a reciprocating member having contact with said die sections; and means for actuating said reciprocating member, said means comprising a slide and a rock member between said slide and reciprocating member having enga ement with both said reciprocating mem er and said slide.

14. In a header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each having a tapered exterior and a face that contacts with a similar face upon an adjacent die section; of means for moving said die sections toward each other and in a path at substantially a right angle thereto, said means comprising a lock aving a ta ed opening therein; a reciprocating mem er having contact with said sections; positively actuated means for moving said reciprocating memberin one direction; means for ejecting a blank from between said sections movably mounted within said reciprocating member; and means for actuating said ejecting means independently of said reciprocating member, the means for actuating the said reciprocating member and ejecting means comprising independently actuated slides and rock members engaging said slides and said reciprocating member and ejecting means.

15. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a recess in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch movable toward and away from said die sections; means for mounting said die sections whereby they will be opened and closed while traveling in a ath substantially parallel with said punc means for ejecting a blank from between said sections, said ejecting means being operated between said die sections and having such an engagement therewith as to move the same while traveling in one direction.

16. In an open die header, the combination with a plurality of die sections, each of said sections having a recess in one face thereof; a reciprocating punch movable toward and away from said die sections; means for mounting said die sections, whereby they will be opened and closed while traveling in a path substantially parallel with said punch and so that the heading pressure thereon will have a tendency to maintain the dies in their closed relation; means for ejecting a blank from between said sections and forming a backing for the blank in said die while the same is being operated upon by said unch.

In testimony-whereo I have hereunto afed m si ature:

CEIARD LESTER WILCCX. 

